The Continued Fight
by katalysa
Summary: This takes place before and somewhat during RE: Code V. It is my own version of another one of those attempts to rid the world of the infamous virus. It's not that bad of a first fanfic, though it starts a bit slow.Rating will go higher in later ch.s
1. Prologue

Prologue

**Days after the Planet incident…**

"Ready?" rookie cop Leon Kennedy asked child genius Rebecca Chambers as he fastened his utility belt. She looked up from studying her hands, forcing a small smile.

"Yeah," she answered, straightening her shirt, _I hope…_

Rebecca, barely nineteen but biochemistry major, fumbled nervously for her lucky red bandana. This was only her third time flying, the first going to the operation at Caliban Cove and the second to Utah at the underground Umbrella facility, the Planet. Now they were trying to smuggle into Europe for the second time, their first attempt being stopped by the mysterious Trent, taking a detour to Utah.

"Looking for this?" David Trapp said, a red fabric dangling from his fingers.

"Yeah, thanks," she told him as she grabbed her lucky charm and wrapped it around her forehead, strands of her mousy bangs falling over the top.

David was a military strategist for the Maine S.T.A.R.S. Exeter branch, and had accompanied Rebecca and three others at Caliban Cove. Two, Karen Driver and Steve Lopez, they lost, and the other, John Andrews—a big six-foot-six body-builder—sat at the back of the plane, snoring his head off.

Rebecca sighed and leaned back in her seat. _Maybe I should get some sleep myself_, she thought, closing her drooping eyes.

…_ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven, ninety…ninety—_

"Hey 'Becca, wake up." John was shaking her shoulder gently.

Rebecca's eyes snapped open. "Don't you know how to let a girl sleep?"

John cackled. "Yeah, you bet…" He groaned as he lifted her from her seat. "…but we're here."

* * *

**ok so there's the prologue. if you have read S.D. Perry's RE fics, then you will understand this better. i read them (duh) and i felt like the way she ended the story before RE: CodeV seemed incomplete (though i think she will be writing more. i haven't checked so...hehehe). sooo... i decided to write my own continuation. **


	2. Chapter 1

One

**At the time of the Planet incident…**

_Oh god…please don't let there be any zombies in here…_

Paris Wong carefully pushed open the door, grimacing as the eerie whine of the hinges deafened her in the dead silence. Her heart thumped louder with every forced step she took, her pulse extremely rapid as her eyes wandered in the darkness. Her hand fell over her flashlight, slowly clicking it on. She swerved it left and right, silently praying that it would not uncover anything she did not want to see—

_"Holy shit!" _The beeping of her headset made her jump wildly, her blood rising up to her head, giving her a sudden migraine. She fumbled nervously for the receive button, her flashlight dropping and making a loud _thud _as it hit the floor.

_"UGH!"_ she grunted loudly, rubbing her left temple with her free hand.

"Hey Paris," the voice of her S.T.A.R.S. partner, Asia Coen, said through the headset. "Chris just contacted me and told me to beep you and to tell you to go to the caf right now 'cause he said that…Paris?"

_One _hell _of a beep…_

"Yeah, yeah," Paris responded impatiently, letting out a huge sigh of relief. "Caf right away—gotcha. Over."

"Okay, so I'll meet you there then," Asia said. "Over and out."

Once her little chat with Asia was over, she quickly gave the storage room one last glance, confirming that no useful information was in there. She turned and hurried out the door, jogging lightly back to the lounge.

* * *

Chris Redfield paced the dimly lit cafeteria of the Umbrella Headquarters in Austria, running a shaky hand through his sweat-plastered hair. The message he received from Trent left him anxious, barely able to keep himself from screaming out to no one in particular. 

_Where the hell _are_ they?_

Suddenly, one of the doors flew open. The beautiful brunette strolled in, her short hair completely tousled.

"I got Paris," she said, combing her fingers through her hair. "She should be coming in—"

The heavy swinging of another door interrupted Asia, her mouth open in mid-sentence. The other gorgeous agent stumbled in, panting shallowly from slight exertion.

"What's going on?" she asked, flipping her shoulder-length black hair, giving her an appearance of a commercial model. Her Asian-American features struggled with confusion.

Chris breathed heavily, locking gazes with his two teammates. His eyes held a look of urgency, glancing back and forth between Asia and Paris. He tried to choose his words carefully, not wanting to make them panic.

_Oh what the hell…_

"We have to leave…_now_."

Asia's jaw dropped.

"W-what?" she hissed, letting her anger show freely, her fists clenched. " We have to _what_?" Her eyes sought Chris', demanding to get an explanation.

Chris switched his weight left and right, obviously uncomfortable under her intense gaze. "I—I…Trent." He looked down at his hands.

Asia's eyes grew wider, and noticed Paris gawking at him too. "Trent? As in, mysterious-Mr. Help-the-resistance-gang, Trent?"

Chris nodded slowly. "Yeah…him."

"What'd he say?" Paris asked calmly, her thumb hanging on the belt loops of her black shorts.

"No time," Chris answered, looking around the room anxiously, grabbing both of the young agents' arms and dragging them towards the door that leads to the warehouse and out of the facility. "I'll explain everything once we get back to the Paris safe house with Barry."

Asia freed her arm. "To Paris? Why all the way back there?" She was skeptical. "Can't we book a hotel or something?"

Chris frowned at her. "You know how dangerous it is to stay someplace so public." His face held signs of weariness. "We _have_ to go back to Paris."

Asia dropped her arms and started walking. "Fine—let's go."_ No use arguing…_

She let Chris lead them out of the compound, passing through the huge and dark warehouse. Twice she daydreamed and stumbled into an empty crate, cursing as she kicked it away.

"You okay?" Paris asked, laughing lightly.

Asia put on an over-exaggerated smile. "Never better!"

Chris looked back, his eyebrow raised. "You could really pass as a cheerleader, you know that?" He laughed then too. "Just…bring it down a bit—you're giving me chills." He faked a shiver sarcastically.

"Ugh! Like, whatever!" Asia answered with the cheesiest tone. "You're just jealous 'cause I'm _sexier_ than you are!" She held up a hand and flipped her hair to prove her point.

"Oh _please_ stop!" Paris said, grunting. "You're killing me with that perkiness of yours." She put her arm around Asia's shoulder. "And _no_ you are not sexier than Chris—_I_ am."

"Uh-huh. Whatever bitch," Asia fired back, smiling inwardly as Paris' face dropped.

"Oh, _I_ get it—am I not _good_ enough for you anymore?" Paris joked, pushing her away. "Are you not satisfied?"

Asia sighed. "Yeah, you're starting to become a bore." She laughed. "Heh, I'm just kidding—" She looped her arms around Paris' and leaned her head on her shoulder. "—You'll always be my one and only bitch."

"Jeez, _stop_ already," Chris groaned. "You're making me jealous." He grinned.

Asia dropped her head in embarrassment, and was grateful that the warehouse was dark as a blush crept up from her neck. She wondered if Paris noticed, but thankfully she was focused at the exit.

_Oh hell…there's nothing wrong with feeling flattered, right? Nope.

* * *

_

**ok. sorry for the language unfortunately it gets worse. again, this was made last year--i was in the cussing mode back then (and might i add "naughty"? oh you will see that in the later chapters teeheehee)  
**_  
_


	3. Chapter 2

Two

Leon helped Rebecca off of the landed aircraft, followed by John and David. He looked around at their new surroundings, astoundingly uncomfortable at the sight of so many people bustling around the port. After weeks of seeing the walking dead and being encircled by only a few people, the current jamboree of live humans seemed out of place. Somehow he did not feel at ease seeing these people whose only worry was getting to work on time, if her boyfriend was breaking up with her, or if her butt was too big, while Leon worried about whether or not he would live the next day, or if and when Umbrella goes down.

"I'm driving," he heard John say behind him. "Just in case those crazy bastards decide to have another little road trip."

Leon shuddered as he recalled their previous encounter with the Umbrella agents. He could not shake off the feeling of being watched after that incident. Just knowing that Umbrella—the biggest pharmaceutical company in the world—was on to your ass made your life miserable as hell.

_They better not follow us again or I _swear_ I'll blow their sorry ass._

"Leon, take the back with me," David said. "Wouldn't want to risk the life of this new baby." He patted the side of the van.

Leon nodded and smiled. "Sure…but I get window seat."

David laughed. "Fine…but don't complain if you get shot first."

* * *

_God, I hope I'm up for this. Again…_

Rebecca rechecked her first-aid kit that hung to her side, counting her stash of medical supplies.

"_Still _checking?" Leon asked with a grin, leaning over the back of her seat.

Rebecca looked up at him, suddenly feeling childish as he stared her down. She smiled back anyway. "Just making sure…" Her fingers played with the strips of bandages. "We'll never know how bad a mission can get, especially if it's against Umbrella."

Leon let out a sigh. He reached over the seat and grabbed her kit. He closed it, then returned it to her.

"I'm _sure_ you have enough for a whole army of shitty soldiers," he said, messing up her hair. "So stop, okay?"

Rebecca nodded, taking it back shyly, overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness. She always wondered how he got caught up in the Umbrella mess, and why he chose to stick around instead of being a normal cop and busting drunk drivers.

_But then again, why am _I _here?_

Rebecca Chambers—college graduate and biochemist. Nineteen years old. S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team field medic—

—Was _Bravo team field medic_, she amended, _not S.T.A.R.S. anymore…_

So why _was_ she here? Rebecca could not help but feel a little guilty for joining David, when her intentions were not primarily to do some major Umbrella butt whooping. She was fascinated by the T-virus, and when S.T.A.R.S. offered a job and promised that she would be able to study the virus, she took it, fresh out of college.

_And now it doesn't seem like I'm gonna be handling the T-virus at all…_

She shook her self-doubts away, telling herself that _this _was what she wants to do—to make Umbrella pay for their fatal mistakes.

"What's wrong? Is it Steve?" David had come up beside her, her ammunition pack hanging on his arm.

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine…but _thanks for reminding me_." She smiled.

David faltered and looked as if he was going to say something more, but instead patted her arm lightly and walked back to his seat, leaving the pack.

_Steve_, she thought,_ I wish I could see him again_. She let her mind wander on thoughts about Steve—about that one short time they held hands; about the times they stared at each other as more than just friends; about the blank look of his face as he shot John, as he locked them in the airlock, as he shot himself…

Her heart constricted when she remembered Steve and his beautiful dying face. There was no expression, true, but still—it was _Steve_. She was on the verge of tears when she thought about what could have happened between them if Steve was still alive.

_Yeah, ditch David and say that you just want to be with Steve. Tell him that you guys will be moving in together and marrying eventually. Give him a "good luck" as he goes off to Europe and put his life in danger trying to take down Umbrella. Maybe you and Steve could have a perfect life with a perfect marriage and perfect house and perfect kids and—_

_Stop it! _her mind screamed, _don't dawdle on to what could have been—Steve's _gone_, and there's _nothing_ you could do about it!_

"Now I _know_ you're not fine."

She was crying freely now, letting her tears run down her face and soak her shirt. David put his arms around her and rocked her gently.

"Shh, it's okay 'Becca," he soothed, "let them out."

Rebecca sobbed against his shoulder, unaware that she also drew the attention of Leon and John. She cried for several minutes, everything that reminded her of Steve hurting her and making her bawl even harder. She scolded herself for being such a baby, especially during times when everything was critical.

_Pull yourself together, 'Becca! Stop being such a crybaby!_

Once she had settled and stopped crying, she tilted her head back and peered up at David. She grinned. "Thanks a lot for reminding me of Steve."

* * *

**hmm...if you're wondering who Steve is...well he's from one of s.d. perry's fics, and he and rebecca got close but he died in the end of the novel. **


	4. Chapter 3

Three

_God I hope Claire's all right…I knew I shouldn't have left her—she'd go after Chris again, I'm sure…Dammit! What if something happens to her? What if—_

"Need my shoulder too?" David joked, breaking him from his thoughts.

Leon laughed. "No, I'm fine."

"Exactly what Rebecca said," David insisted. "Redfield, huh?"

Leon looked at him, but was not surprised. "Well…yeah, but not—"

_BANG!_

Leon ducked as a bullet went flying past his head, missing by an inch. "SHIT!" He took out the Beretta that David had given him and started shooting out the broken back window, immediately joined by David.

"Get down!" he told Rebecca as more shots crashed through the back. He ejected the empty clip and slapped in a fresh one as Rebecca cowered towards the front.

"Who the _hell_ are they?" John shouted from the front, flooring the pedal in an instant.

Leon sat back behind the door, panting as he tossed David a full clip. He flinched when a bullet shot through the back and almost hit his arm.

"Isn't it obvious?" he answered, crouching as he attempted to get a good aim. "It's those goddamn Umbrella shitheads!"

The van picked up speed as the familiar black sedan continued to chase after them. The van careened to the left, pushing Leon and David to the right of the vehicle, their aim interrupted and fired blindly.

"Sorry 'bout that!" John yelled. "We need to lose these bastards!"

Leon fixed himself behind the door once again, firing at the following vehicle. He cursed loudly as he noticed that their bullets were bouncing off of the sedan's windows.

_We're never gonna get them to back down! Even though I'm not a bad shot, and neither is David, their reinforced windows just makes this a helluva lot more complicated…unless—_

The memory of their last engagement flashed into his mind.

"David! Rebecca!" he urged. "Get as close to the front as possible!"

Startled, Rebecca crawled even further to the front, putting her head between her knees, followed by Leon and David. David took a quick glance at him, understanding what he was planning. He smiled.

"Ready?" David asked him.

Leon nodded. "John! Slam on the brakes!"

John frantically shot him a questioning look. "What! Are you fucking _crazy_!"

"_JUST DO IT!_" Leon shouted.

_And I thought he wanted to drive 'cause he remembered last time…_

The van came to a screeching halt—

_BAM!_

Leon, Rebecca, and David covered their heads with their arms as broken glass flew from the shattered window. The smell of burnt metal and plastic filled the air, causing Leon to cough and choke. He listened as the flying shards fell rhythmically to the floor, emitting a rain of soft _pings_, hoping not to hear any signs of movement from their enemy.

After he decided that the Umbrella goons were inanimate—at least for the moment—he rose from the crouch he was in and peered out the back. Noticing that the sedan was crushed from the front and that no movement was present, he sat back down and sighed.

"Let's go," he said, ejecting another empty clip, _and get the _hell_ out of here…

* * *

_

David watched as Rebecca lay back to sleep, Leon mutely staring out the window—or rather, what was _left_ of the window. He set down his pack. "Redfield again?" He clapped Leon's shoulder.

Leon looked up, then forced a tiny smile. "Yeah…sort of."

David was not sure as to _how_ close Leon and Claire were, but he assumed that there was nothing serious between them.

_Although there isn't much of an age difference, and they_ did_ go through Raccoon together…_

"I'm just worried that she might go off again and look for Chris," Leon continued, "and I was stupid enough to tell her their presumed location."

_Oh what the hell…no harm in asking…_

"Uh," David said, sitting next to Leon. "Was there—you know—anything between you and Claire?" He looked undoubtedly uncertain.

Leon gawked at him skeptically and said with a defensive tone, "No! Of course not!" He continued to stare at David wildly. "She's just a kid sister that I feel I need to protect!" He dropped his voice, obviously aware that Rebecca was still asleep. "I don't feel a…a _spark_ with her that way. _Seriously_."

David eyed him. "Protection as an older brother? She has Chris for that, definitely. And even if he isn't with her now, you know she can kick ass."

Leon laughed lightly. "True…but I really don't feel any romance with her, okay? So can we just drop the subject?"

David strolled back to his seat and really changed the subject. "You really _did_ remember my trick, didn't you?"

Leon gave him an inquiring look. "What trick?"

He leaned back and clasped his hands behind his head. "You know—the 'if-Umbrella-is chasing-you-slam-on-the-brakes-and-let-'em-have-you' trick."

Leon laughed knowingly. "Oh, _that_ trick." He shrugged. "Yeah I remembered it, all right." He sighed sarcastically. "Who could ever forget that impact?"

David chuckled and closed his eyes.

From beside him, he felt something move. "Are we there yet?" a tired, breathy voice called. Rebecca sat up rubbing her eyes. She stretched out her arms and yawned loudly. "So, are we?"

David, realizing that they were pulled over, answered, "I'm not sure, but I think so."

"Yes we are," John announced from the front. "So we better say our good-byes to Leon."

* * *

**yep...there will be romance (lots of it) in this fanfic of mine heeheehee. so if you're not a fan of it---awww phooey hehehe**


	5. Chapter 4

Four

Rebecca looked up at John, startled. "_Goodbye_? To _Leon_?" Her eyes wandered wildly back and forth between the three men. "What's going on? Isn't he coming with us to London?"

David sighed apologetically and took her hands in his. "No, 'Becca. Leon's not coming with us to London." He peered over at Leon, who nodded. "He's—ah—going to Paris to meet up with the other team…"

_Paris? He's going to Paris alone? What kind of sick joke _is _this?_

Rebecca stared at Leon, who held an expression that said "I'm sorry, but there's nothing else you can do" kind of look. She dropped her head.

"What the _hell_ are you guys _thinking_?" she fumed. "You know that Umbrella would be tracking us down—and you're gonna let Leon go solo?" Her hands were clenched into fists, her knuckles white.

Leon reached over to her and placed a hand lightly on her arm. "Don't do this, 'Becca…it's hard enough already." He looked into her eyes, and she saw that it was filled with heartfelt sorrow, making her feel guilty all of a sudden. "But I promise I'll take care of myself."

Rebecca sighed reluctantly. "Okay…but you _better_ stay alive until we get there." She punched him lightly.

"Of course," Leon answered. "And plus, I heard that Chris' team can kick ass." He grinned.

Leon's light-heartedness made Rebecca smile back foolishly. _Why does everything have to end up in good-byes? _she thought gravely.

The team stepped out of the vehicle with David leading. Rebecca observed the plane strip they were on, noticing how incredibly plain it was. Besides the several lights that were set up and the planes themselves, there was nothing extraordinary about it. There were no people around either, except for the two pilots that David contacted.

When the time came for them to board the plane, Rebecca stopped and looked back at Leon's beaming face.

"I'm fine," he mouthed, and waved his goodbye.

Rebecca smiled and gave him a thumb's-up before stepping into the small plane and letting the door close behind her.

* * *

The flight to Paris was not as bad as she thought. Paris leaned back into her seat and waited for the flight attendant to dismiss them. Paris smiled as she saw Asia sitting up eagerly beside her, knowing that she absolutely _hated_ anything that has to do with flying. It must have been that time when, during training, she had to jump out of a plane that was several hundreds of feet above the ground. She had missed her count and jumped too early, the harness not being held yet. Once the captain knew what was happening, he grabbed the rapidly uncoiling rope and yanked it, Asia coming to an instant halt a few feet from the ground, her breath catching as she felt the pull. Asia was screaming the whole way down, aware that she was descending really fast, and was even _sure_ that she was not going to make it. After that, she always became hesitant when boarding anything that flies.

_At least she didn't pee in her pants_, Paris thought, silently laughing as she remembered their other trainee, who had wet his pants during training under fire.

"Miss," the attendant said, "You and your friends may go."

Being in the back was probably killing Asia, for they were the last go. Paris grabbed her bags and walked down the aisle with Chris and Asia.

_I _still_ don't know why we have to carry these rag-filled bags,_ she thought, frowning at the fake luggage they brought. Chris had suggested that they leave their weapons back at the warehouse and carry along a few bags filled with useless rags to have the impression of travelers. _It's not like Umbrella doesn't know who we are already. What's the point in trying to hide it…but then again, we still have to go through airport security…_

They got through security, relieved as they got out of the law enforcement-filled place. Paris grunted and threw her bags into the nearest trash bin.

"Sick of these wretched things," she said as Asia joined her and dropped her bags in.

"_Tell_ me about it," she replied.

Chris led them towards a small cab, opening and holding the door for them. Paris climbed in first, proud of her contributions to Chris and Asia, forcing them to sit together. She squirmed as she noticed the cab driver giving her lustful looks, so she spent the whole ride to the dock staring out the window. Chris and Asia did not seem to talk either, probably in fear of the driver finding out who they really are. It sucks being the renegades that people looked down upon.

They stepped out of the cab as they reached the dock that leads to the safe house. Paris shivered as she saw Chris pay the driver, noticing again that disgusting "I-wanna-undress-you" look.

_Talk about desperate…_

They walked over to the dangerous-looking wooden platform, creaking as they stepped over it. Paris prayed that the wood would not give in on them, mainly because it was dark and she did not want to go swimming when she cannot see a goddamn thing. Chris climbed into the small canoe that waited for them, holding on to their arms as she and Asia jumped in after him. The water around splashed and rippled as the boat rocked, taking in the group's weight. Once it steadied, Chris reached in to the side and pulled out two oars. He gave one to Paris.

Paris took it, but stared at it as if it were from another planet. "What the hell am I gonna do with this?" Her jaw dropped as Chris gave her a half smile and a shrug. "Oh _hell_ no—I'm not paddling our way there…"

Chris started rowing, his muscular arms bulging out from his shirt. "Sorry, but we won't get there 'til morning if you guys don't help." He grunted as he picked up the pace.

"Does that mean I have to help too?" Asia asked helplessly.

Paris shoved the oar into her hands. "Yes, and you can go first." She smiled at her sweetly.

Asia glared back at her, taking the oar. "Fine…but you're still my bitch." She splashed Paris with lake water.

"Hey!" she sputtered, wetting her back. "I'm cold enough already in these clothes!"

Asia laughed. "That's what you get for dressing up like a slut."

Paris gasped, splashing Asia even more. "It's not _that_ slutty!" She ducked as Asia prepared to wet her again. "Just a little."

Again, Chris got in the middle of everything. "Will you _please_ stop, for _chrissakes_?" He looked slightly irritated. "We've got a way to go." He started rowing again.

"Well _sor-ry_ for bursting your bubble," Paris mumbled, Asia giggling beside her.

_Oops! Hopefully he didn't hear that—I don't want to get on his bad side…_

Asia started to row, her arms straining to keep up with Chris' pace. Paris felt guilty for making Asia go first, her conscience stabbing at her as she watched her struggle.

"Damn—is he _ever_ gonna slow down?" Asia asked, panting.

Paris gave her an apologetic shrug, biting her lower lip. Her mind was killing her now, hating to see her friend suffer all of that physical exertion.

"Hey, I'll take over for now," she said softly, taking the oars from her hands. "I'll do double time since I made you go first."

Her conscience was at ease as soon as she saw Asia's grateful smile. She smiled herself, too, knowing that she could never resist helping out.

"Thanks," Asia whispered, sitting back on the canoe, her hands dangling off the sides and slightly stroking the water.

Paris nodded back, bringing the oar over the side and sweeping the water. As time passed, she felt the excruciating burn that people tend to get when working muscles too hard. Her face contorted in pain every time she brought the oar down and rowed. Lungs burning and arms hurting like a son-of-a-bitch, she rowed even faster and harder as Chris gradually sped up.

_Gotta…hold…up—can't…give…in—push…harder—don't…let…fatigue…get…to…you..._

Her arms kept moving, forcing the water back to propel them forward, numb from the pain. She could not recall a time when she felt more pain than that, which probably meant that she hardly did anything at all.

_Yup…just me and my lazy ass…_

She was too caught up in her daydreams to notice the distant sounds of water sloshing behind them. She just kept on pumping her arms, unaware of the boat that was approaching them. It was not until Chris yelled that she shook away her mind wanderings.

"Get down!" he cried, pulling her and Asia low to the bottom of the canoe as shots rang out from the boat behind them.

"Umbrella!" she growled, searching for her semi on her thighs—

"_SHIT_!"

—but finding them gone. Paris silently swore at Chris, feeling fury wash over her as she dwelled on to Chris' urgency a short while back to leave their weapons at the warehouse.

_Now we're in terribly deep shit._

She kept her head low, frantically trying to come up with a solution for their desperate situation. Her heart skipped a beat as a burst of fully automatic nine-millimeters permeated through the air, firing blindly in the dark. A little lower and they would become fish food…or worse—Umbrella lab rats.

* * *

"To the dock," Leon told the driver, leaning back on the seat.

The cab driver gave him a funny look. "Which dock?"

"The closest one," Leon answered absent-mindedly.

The driver shook his head and stepped on the gas, running a red light.

_What the hell is _his _problem?_

Leon stared out the window the whole way, eager to meet the team, especially Chris, Claire's brother. He was sure that Claire would be glad to know that her brother was all right.

He felt the cab slow down, the vehicle shaking as it ran over the uneven field. Finally, it stopped beside a tree, the gloomy dock visible in the pale moonlight. He slid out of the cab, paying the driver a little extra, feeling too lazy to count exact change. The cab drove off, leaving him in the desolate field.

Leon heard the shots. Running up to the dock, he strained to see in the darkness for the ones responsible for the noise. He drew his gun, much obliged to David for contacting a pilot for him. Otherwise, he would have had to leave all of his weapons back at the apartment. He re-holstered his semi, flipping over an overturned boat and quickly hopping in. His hands reached out over the wooden transport, feeling around for the oar, sighing relief as his hands touched the distinct feel of a wooden oar. Drawing in a shaky breath, he pushed off from the side and started towards the shots.

Leon effortlessly caught up to the perpetrators, immediately drawing his gun. Even in the darkness, he noticed the familiar symbol—

"Umbrella," he said under his breath.

He trained his gun on one of the Umbrella agents, aware that they were attacking someone, probably one from Chris' team. After all, that_ was _the way to their safe house. Once he got a clear shot at the enemy, he squeezed the trigger, the bullet flying and accurately hitting the target on the back of his head. The man fell into the water, echoing a loud _splash_. Another sound of a falling body, but that time it came from the ambushed boat up front. A woman's voice called out, but the ringing of more shots from the Umbrella agents muffled it. The yelping of that same woman and the yelling of a man made his heart race at an increasing speed. He instantly aimed at the attackers again, scolding himself for wasting time. He shot at the remaining agents, each one blundering into the water.

Leon heard more shouting, but assumed that they were the allies. He could have sworn that he heard "Chris" yelled out, but he was not completely sure. He quickly stroked the water and approached the attacked boat.

Paris screamed out to Asia as she heard her fall into the water. In their panic, they had rocked the boat a little too hard while trying to lay low, forcing Asia into the water. Umbrella was only sixty feet away, but, thankfully, it was too dark to aim accurately. Paris sat up, struggling to find Asia, but ducking instantly as a spray of bullets flew over her head. Once the round was over, she got up again and reached out to Asia, calling out her name. She looked frantically around the boat, looking for Asia—

"—help!" she heard Asia sputter from several feet away, frequently diving back underwater to avoid getting shot. Numb from fear, she stood up—

_Bambambam!_

"_Uhn_!" she yelped, clutching her bleeding right shoulder where the bullet hit her. Chris came to her side, pulling her down and supporting her.

"Oh my god—lay still," he said, gently pushing her down.

She shoved him away. "_NO_!" She struggled to sit up, gasping as a fresh wave of pain washed over her.

_No time for babying around!_

She leapt over the side of the canoe, Chris yelling and reaching out to pull her back in, but she broke free from his grip. She heard more shots, but it came from somewhere further back, followed by the sound of bodies falling into the water. Then everything went still except for the water lapping as she swam towards Asia.

_Oh god…first thing I'll do when we get back—work out…actually, sleep first._

Paris' arms were still fatigued from the rowing, and her throbbing shoulder made it much worse. She reached Asia, but could not find the strength to drag her back into the boat. She cried helplessly, straining to keep her and the passed-out Asia afloat. But, seconds later, Chris appeared in front of her, grabbing Asia while another figure seized her with strong arms and swam her back into the boat. Then everything went dark.

* * *

**ok. just to let you know...in the beginning of this chapter it mentions flying to Paris. Paris, France. and then there's a character named 'Paris' (if you haven't figured already). so there. just in case it needed some clearing up hehehe**


	6. Chapter 5

Five

Chris sat up as he heard Asia cough out water. He watched her open her eyes, his arm around her back while she struggled to gain consciousness.

"Hey. You okay?" he asked softly, searching her fluttering eyes. His shoulders relaxed as he saw her eyes focus in on him, a sign of comprehensiveness. He pushed a few strands of her hair away from her face.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she answered, using her arms to support her weight as she sat up, her hair dripping with excess water.

Chris' breath caught as she did, her face coming up only inches away from his. Even though she had been soaked in lake water, he could still smell the faint scent of her floral perfume. He had a sudden urge to dip his head and kiss her, noticing that neither of them had moved from their awkward position. The intensity of her nearness was tempting him to pull her even nearer to him and put his lips on hers, and he actually did it, using the arm that was still wrapped behind her back to draw her closer. For a long second he just stared into her eyes, hoping not to see any resistance as he closed the space between them and covered her mouth with his.

Her lips were warm and soft as he kissed her, despite the fact that she was unconscious not an hour ago. He was slightly surprised that she did not pull away as he deepened the kiss, moving his hand to the back of her head and pushing it towards him even harder. She seemed to stiffen a bit, but he felt her relax as her arms reached up and hung on his shoulders. Simultaneously, his other arm came up to her face, caressing her smooth features. She made a sound from the back of her throat, but still they did not let go.

_Wow…this is—_wow_…_

Chris felt so good, better than he had since before the Umbrella incident. He could feel Asia's warm breath on his neck as she exhaled deeply from her nose, sending a sensational chill down his spine. He wrapped his arms around her now, running it up and down her back.

_I could kiss her forever—_

—but forever was cut short when Asia gripped his shoulders and pushed him away, standing up and rushing out the door.

* * *

Leon carried the agent into the safe house. She was passed out, the blood from her wound seeping through her flimsy shirt. He did his best to put pressure on it, clamping his hand over it as he laid her on the mattress in one of the bedrooms. Chris had asked him to take care of her while he attends to Asia, the other agent, and he was more than happy to accept. 

Leon knew that he had take her shirt off and dress her wound, but he felt really awkward on the thought of undressing a woman and also guilty for even having "thoughts"; she was a beautiful woman—her pale, porcelain face utterly striking with its gorgeous features, her satiny, black hair glinting in the faint light, her perfectly shaped body showing signs of a good physical endurance…

_Stop it! You're letting her bleed to death with your hormonal fantasies! Snap out of it!_

Leon shook his feelings away. He had to undress her, but that was fine because she would bleed like a cow if he did not take care of her wound. So, taking a deep breath, he pulled the shirt up and over her head, supporting her weight with one arm. He flinched slightly as he saw her half-naked body, lingering over her perfect, model-like physique…

_You're doing it again…_

He snapped his attention away from her body and focused on her bleeding shoulder. Her injury bled furiously as he removed his hand from the bullet wound, staining the sheets on the bed. He cleaned the wounded area with a large damp towel, pressing it against her skin as he quickly tore a clean strip of the bed sheet. Leon wrapped the strips around her shoulder, pulling it tight enough just to stop it from bleeding rapidly. Once her wound was dressed, Leon went out and searched for an extra pair of clothes.

He searched in all of the rooms, but came up empty-handed. Sighing, he went back to the room where he left the woman (he still did not know her name) and sat on the bed beside her. He pulled off his own shirt and, lifting her up, he slipped it over her head. He laid her back down.

As Leon observed the woman, he began to feel that she seemed like someone, somehow. She reminded him of someone he once knew, her physical appearance striking him as familiar. He looked at her beautiful face and flashes of another woman invaded his mind—

"Ada…" she mumbled in her sleep.

Leon tensed up, abruptly realizing that she _did_ remind him of Ada. _But who is she to her?_ He was suddenly anxious for her to wake up, the thought of her knowing Ada, in any way, killing him. However, she did not wake up any time soon, making Leon's eyelids fall heavy over his eyes and taking him into a deep sleep.

* * *

Asia pressed her mouth with the back of her hand as she ran out to the backyard. She felt the sting of tears in the back of her eyes, threatening to pour out. She reached the metal railing and stopped. 

"Asia!" she heard Chris call, jogging up behind her.

_Oh, no,_ she thought, her heart racing. She panicked, having no explanations or defenses put up. She gripped the railing even tighter, her hands burning. Suddenly she felt Chris' hand touch her arm gently. She turned around and faced him.

"What?" she asked rather rudely, unaware of the tears that were streaming down her face.

Chris slowly reached up and ran his fingers across her cheek, wiping away her tears. She aggressively pushed his hand away.

"_Please_, leave me _alone_!" she cried, helplessly beating him with her fists as he held on to her tightly. "Let me go, Chris!" She wiggled free from his grasp and backed away. She felt her stomach tighten as she saw Chris' hurt expression.

"What's wrong?" he half-whispered. "Did I do something wrong?"

_God, how can he be so damn insistent?_

"_Yes_!" she croaked. "_This_! You and me and—" She stopped, more tears pouring out. "Just—leave me alone…please." She sank to the ground.

In a second, Chris was on his knees beside her, his hand on her shoulder. Asia gave up trying to fend him off, so she let him.

"Please tell me what's wrong," he said softly, a hint of hurting in his voice. "If it has something to do with what happened back there…I'm sorry, okay?"

Asia finally dared to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry, too, Chris…but…I really can't do this." She stood up. "Please understand." She turned and walked away, twisting the ring on her finger.

* * *

**teeheehee. you see? the romance has kicked in. yup. i find it cheesey. but w/e hehehe. (it seems to be a little "unfitting", huh? hehehe. drama is something i write that always end up too--exaggerated, in my POV hehe) hmm..the pairings already seem obvious in this chapter, no? ok so if i get enough reviews i will post the next five chapters  
**


End file.
